T-R PHOTO BY ADAM SODDERS — State Center Locker owners Donna and Chuck Ryherd are proud to offer several beef products at their store.

Iowa is one of the nation’s top producers of beef. Beef Month in May is meant to recognize the people who raise, process and sell beef products.

All of the above takes place in Central Iowa, with farmers and sellers working with beef products day in and day out.

“Bottom line, we want a quality product going to the consumer,” said State Center area cattle farmer Jay Klemme.

He said much of the beef he produces goes to Agri Start in Postville. Klemme’s dad and grandpa also raised livestock and he has carried on that tradition with his family.

Work on the farm includes daily feedings, checking on the health of the cattle, ensuring healthy calf births and more. Klemme said his wife helps with farm duties.

Another area couple in the beef cattle business, Jeff and Christy Hibbs, is based in the Albion area. The couple not only produces beef, but also sells it locally.

“I’ve got a local foods market in Albion,” Christy Hibbs said. “We also sell beef directly to consumers who want beef in their freezer directly.”

Along with many other area beef farmers, the Hibbs also sell some of their product at auction in Tama.

The State Center Locker is also in the business of selling beef products.

“We make our own ground beef,” said locker co-owner Donna Ryherd. “We make beef sticks and jerky. We do provide that to a couple of places — the HyVee Drug Store and Hometown (Foods) here in town.”

Beef and pork make up most of the products Ryherd said the locker sells.

“The producer usually has their own customer base and then they schedule their beef and then give us their customer names, and then we process it for that particular customer exactly how they want it,” she said of beef processing.

Those products are also available for purchase at the locker’s 106 First Ave S. location in State Center.

Klemme is one of the farmers whose product sometimes goes through the State Center Locker, he said, including “steak, hamburgers, roasts, about whatever beef you can think of.”

The joys and challenges of raising beef cattle

Looking after a herd of animals which can each grow to about 1,500 pounds is no easy task. It requires dedication and grit.

“Livestock and cattle production is just like having kids. You have to tend to them every day, 365 days per year,” Klemme said. “You do the utmost that you can to assure that that product is going to be out to the people.”

Christy Hibbs said there are many factors outside of farmers’ control that create challenges, including national and international markets, as well as weather patterns.

She said ongoing trade wars between the United States and other countries have hit the beef market.

“Those markets have been depressed lately and these ongoing trade negotiations with China … are greatly impacting agriculture right now,” she said.

The extremely cold winter this year was a major challenge for local farmers. Cattle farmers still had to tend to their animals to make sure they were warm and safe with the arctic temperatures that hit in January.

While there are major challenges inherent to raising beef, there are also joys large and small to the lifestyle.

“Being able to produce very good-tasting product is one of the great things,” Jeff Hibbs said. “To me, it’s just a joy to see a nice, healthy group of cows on a nice pasture.”

His wife agreed and said the outdoor lifestyle is another great reward.

“It’s nice to be able to be outside, even on crappy days,” Christy Hibbs said.

Klemme said one of the most rewarding feelings he gets every year is when a new calf is born healthy and happy. He also said he takes joy in raising cows that do well at market.

On the selling side, Ryherd said she likes providing good food products to customers. She said Beef Month is an important time for people to reflect on where many of the products they eat come from.

“It reminds people out there, I think, that there is good quality, home-grown beef in this area,” Ryherd said.